Raja ignored advice to refer 2G issue to EGoM: CBI to court

Former Telecom Minister A Raja had ignored the Law Ministry's advice to refer the 2G spectrum allocation issue to the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) after assuring it as well as the Prime Minister's Office that he would follow the existing policy and later deviating from it, CBI today told a Delhi court.

CBI told Special CBI judge O P Saini that Raja wrote a letter to the Prime Minister's Office terming the Law Ministry's advice as "out of context."

During the arguments on framing of charges before Judge Saini, Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit said the probe into the case has yielded documents showing that Raja had insisted on following the existing First-Come-First-Serve
policy but eventually deviated from the same.

"Law Ministry recommended to refer the matter to EGoM but Raja (in his letter dated November 2, 2007) said the advice is out of context. He (Raja) dumped the advice and said we will go by the existing policy," Lalit said.

He pointed out that as per the FCFS policy, the firm applying first for the licence would have been higher in the priority list but the Ministry suddenly decided that firms, which first manage to get the government's Letter of Intent
for grant of the licence, will be accorded higher priority for allocation of spectrum.

"You (Raja) wished to go by the existing policy but then there appears to be a sudden deviation in the letter written to the PMO on December 26, 2007, saying seniority of applicants will be decided by date and time of compliance with Letter of Intent (and not by the date of application)," Lalit said.

Lalit told the court that the Telecom Ministry under Raja had virtually modified the FCFS policy to mean that a firm which applies first for the licence will no longer be higher in the priority list.

"Should this kind of criteria determine seniority (for allocation of spectrum)? It is sort of a shrewed operation that whoever is able to push their documents is higher in the priority," he said.

"Physical fitness became the scale and criteria, making the whole process vitiated as the people associated with them (Raja and others) had prior knowledge of this (change in criteria) and they had kept ready the requisite
demand drafts since November and December 2007," the agency said.